Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Valentines

Growing up, Valentines Day was for teenagers/adults only. I had never heard of children giving valentines cards to their classmates, or friends. Or grandparents giving valentines to their grandchildren. Valentines cards were for lovers. Well, I guess there's another cultural difference. My kids' school, as most other schools in the US, has the practice of exchanging valentines among students. Each student is expected to make a valentines card for each of their classmates. It doesn't matter that they might not get along, or far from love each other.

I think last year I didn't even realize Winter should participate in this, and totally spaced it. This year, both the kids' teachers sent notes home to remind the parents they the kids needed to make these valentines. I had seen a fun idea on a blog, to attach 2 hearts together, with a piece of candy in the middle. I still have a bunch of Halloween candy from clearance, so that was easy. First, we cut open a few paper grocery bags. Then I had to trace 70 hearts. They colored, and decorated them with stamps, stickers, and markers, complaining all the while. As I reminded them this was funner than going to bed, they finally stopped whining and enjoyed themselves a little more.The craziest part was assembling the hearts. The blog told me to punch holes along the edges, and use yarn to sew the 2 pieces together, but the fact that I had 35 hearts to complete, made me look for different solutions. I grabbed the stapler, and start hitting away. 350 staples later, my shoulder is sore, and I am grateful that metal is cheap! As the project was almost complete, I could tell Sterling was so excited by the outcome. He kept counting his hearts over and over again, to make sure he had enough. Also, he just kept giggling. I hope that this project made the kids realize that the person that loves them the most this valentine's day is not their classmates who give them candy, but their mother, who spent hours crafting, and now has a sore shoulder.

8 comments:

Todd and Amyjoy said...

Jessica,
I like that idea! Homemade!
Cute cute!

Our kids love Valentine's day. Tobin was jumping up and down today because he is so excited that his party is TOMORROW!
I love watching the kids' excitement! I am in charge of Annika's Valentine party at school tomorrow and we are going to do a Valentine bingo, a candy graph game and eat lots of mostly healthy snacks. It should be fun!

Amyjoy

Unknown said...

Leuk idee !!

Wendy said...

I am sure they will realize it, but probably not as soon as you would like! ;)
Nice Job!!!

Dee Jordan said...

You are my inspiration! I have gotten so Lazy in the last two years I have (gasp) purchased Clairee's valentine exchange cards. Audree and Bailee would have been agast at the thought of not having homemade! So tonight we create! I guess hording scrapbook supplies for the last 10 years has now come full circle!

Amber said...

I LOVE making homemade v-day cards (see my blog for proof!). This is a great idea for next year. They turned out so cute!

Kaitlyn said...

Those are so adorable, what a great idea!

wannabee free said...

those are great. way to go, mom!
Aisling was very excited about her first Valentine's Day mailbox from school. Whenever she got one with candy she would say, 'aww! Alex gave me this? He is so sweet!' I finally had to explain that it as not the child who was so sweet, but the child's mother that bought the candy and helped the child attach it to the card.

The Bartel Bunch... said...

It seems Valentine has become a ridiculous holiday in the school system. You are not the only women I know who stayed up late making something crafty and cute for Valentine's Day. My husband and I didn't even exchange gifts this year so why in the world should kids be forced to give every single one of their classmates something? Oh well. At least it was a fun family activity.

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